Great Grand father was born in east India

[no1ladyann]

Hi,
I am now working on another branch of my family .... my father's mother's father:D My grandmother was a Nora Gertrude Patterson, her father Alexander Patterson according to records I have located was born in Madras India,in approximately 1854, he was in the Army. I assume his father was also and stationed in India. He was married as far as I can tell to a Harriet ??. How do I find his birth records now? Since I do not have a great deal of information to give the records department, no parents names etc, it might be difficult to get one issued. I found all this info in the 1901 Census!

The information I have is sketchy...all I had to go on was my grand mother's name and where she was born, and some sibling names my dad seemed reluctant to impart any more info than that. |banghead|

I am still muddling my way through all the sites looking for morsels of information to try and put this jigsaw together...kind of hard when 90% of the pieces are missing|biggrin|

Any help would be appreciated.|help|
Thanks,
Ann

[ChristineR]

I used the search box up the top here, used the key words - India birth- and some useful information came up in the India Forum. You might like to browse it for additional ideas.

http://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=423

This is the database from the British Library - The India Office Family History Search. I had a very quick look, I couldn't see your Alexander - a few but not the right time frame.

http://indiafamily.bl.uk/UI/

ChristineR :)

[Andrew Mead]

First - have you tried the India forum?
Second - have you tried the IGI for India, although the Alexander Pattersons there are member submitted and probably aren't the right ones.
Third - there was an excellent India site run by Cathy Day, but every link I can find to it is broken - I've asked on the India Forum if it still exists.

[Pam Downes]

Hi Ann,
Google etc for 'Families in British India'. As well as other links there is one for a Society which has a wiki page (haven't explored it myself) about resources o be searched.
I've also had a look at the LDS catalogue (http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp)
and by doing a place name search for India, and then by following
India,
church records,
Parish register transcripts from the Presidency of Madras, 1698-1948 and then clicking on the 'view film notes' box in the top right-hand corner
eventually arrived at this page (http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlefilmnotes&columns=*%2C0%2C0&titleno=159329&disp=Parish+register+transcripts+from+the+Pre++) where the film reference numbers say 'FHL British film'. I don't think that is purely because I live in Britain :) but it would be interesting to see if you get the same result by following the individual pages I clicked on. :) I think the answer to it being a British film is because it appears to be filmed from records held by the India Office in London. (Sorry, I know I'm waffling and being very vague but India is a completely unknown area to me. :D )
Pam